After the state Senate gave final approval to a statewide smoking ban yesterday, Pittsburgh’s Bill Godshall stood in the gallery and started clapping.

“I am so pleased — I’ve been working on this for 22 years,” said the head of SmokeFree Pennsylvania.

“I knew this would happen sooner or later, but it’s better sooner. This is the most important public health legislation enacted in this state in the last several decades. This is truly historic.”

The Senate vote to enact the smoking ban was 41-9, a turnaround from last week, when it rejected a House-Senate conference committee report by a 31-19 margin.

The state Senate this evening voted to table a bill that would have amended the state constitution to ban gay marriage.

The main sponsor, Sen. Michael Brubaker, R-Lancaster, said it had become clear to him that the bill would not pass in the House and he therefore saw no point to a lengthy debate in the Senate.

Up to 14 amendments were planned on the bill, which would have meant a long night.

One of the amendments was by Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, who proposed that Pennsylvania outlaw most divorces. His amendment would “outlaw the dissolution of most marriages in Pennsylvania,” he said in a news release. That would mean there would be few legal ways for the divorce of a married couple, a man and a woman.
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Pennsylvanians could have fewer dinnertime interruptions and automatic political messages waiting on their answering machines under a bill approved by the state Senate on Wednesday.

The measure would allow people to block automatic telephone calls, or ‘‘robocalls,’‘ by political campaigns, parties and organizations. The bill, which passed 48-1, now goes to the House of Representatives, where similar measures are awaiting a vote.

Under the bill, a person wishing to block recorded political calls would have to specify that they want their telephone number to appear on a ‘‘do-not-call’‘ list to be maintained by the attorney general’s office or another state agency.  read more »

From the DoS website, here are the winners in the contested races for US House and State Senate. The results for the State House are here, but of note is that Don Costa (D), D21, may or may not have won this seat. The vote looks too close to call and I expect a recount.

US Rep:

PA-03 – Kathy Dahlkemper (D)
PA-05 – Mark McCraken (D) – Glenn Thompson®
PA10 – Chris Hackett®
PA-18 – Steve O’Donnell (D)

—————————————————————————-

State Senate PA-1 Larry Farnese (D)
PA-13 Lloyd Smucker®
PA-15 Judy Hirsh (D)
PA-17 Lance Rogers®
PA-23 Gene Yaw®
PA-33 Richard Alloway II®
PA-39 Bompiani (D)  read more »

I call these “undorsements.” Also, just because Fumo has never said he endorses Farnese, the proof is in the pudding. The media should step up and say that Fumo has endorsed – getting 16 Senate members to raise money for someone and telling people to vote for him is an endorsement…

State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo is imploring residents of his district to vote against his longtime foe John J. Dougherty in the race to succeed him, labeling him “a bully, a thug and evil.”  read more »

Ok, this idea to have a debate and let the winner be the sole opponent to Johnny Doc is pretty darn silly.

THE TOP TWO aides to state Senate candidate Anne Dicker left her campaign over the weekend, following several days of intrigue over the possibility that she or attorney Larry Farnese would get out of the race.

Dicker said yesterday that she’d fired her campaign manager, Karim Olaechea, after a series of disagreements on the direction of her campaign – and a conversation with political consultant Larry Ceisler, an adviser to the third candidate in the Senate race, union leader John Dougherty.  read more »

With State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo not seeking reelection, his allies have been lining up behind the candidacy of Center City lawyer Larry Farnese in the Democratic primary.

And for the campaigns of Farnese’s opponents – union leader John J. Dougherty and activist Anne Dicker – that is enough to suggest Fumo is seeking to still exert influence through a surrogate.

Fumo has not publicly indicated any preference in the race for the high-profile First District, but it is no secret that the animosities between him and Dougherty run deep and that Dicker has been a staunch critic.  read more »

I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about this. As a good-government type, I’m glad to see one of the more, ahem, ethically questionable members of the legislature go bye-bye. Unfortunately, I don’t think Johnny Doc is going to be much better on the ethical front. He’s been part of Philadelphia’s Democratic machine for too long.

On the other hand, Fumo has been an advocate for Philadelphia in a legislature that is often openly hostile to the city.

If only Perzel were caught in a scandal. One would think he was from Potter County or something, given how constantly finds ways to stick it to the city.  read more »